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Minutes 06-22-05 PRINCIPALS' ROUNDTABLE HOSTED BY THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2005 IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AT 8:00 A.M. Present: Education Advisory Board Members: City of Boynton Beach: Floyd M. Beil, Vice Chair Melinda Mallon Patricia Lashley Christine G. Moeller Marlene Ross Kurt Bressner, City Manager Virginia Farace, Board Liaison Principals: Wayne Owens, Charter School of Boynton Beach Kathleen Perry, Boynton Beach High School Jim Kidd, South Tech Academy Marc Flamer, Survivor Charter School Janice LaForte, DayStar Academy Guarn Sims, Galaxy Elementary School Kathy Harris, Congress Middle School Karen Whetsell, Poinciana Elementary School Judith Asbury, Citrus Cove Elementary Also Present: Carole Shetler, South Area Superintendent 8:00 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. Refreshments 8:15 p.m. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag Ms. Farace called the Roundtable to order at 8:15 a.m. and stated an agenda was provided for today's program. Participants recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 8:20 a.m. Self-Introductions around the table Ms. Farace noted the Education Advisory Board was the sponsor of the Principals' Roundtable. Ms. Farace introduced Ms. Mallon, who is a member of the Education Advisory Board, and the chair of the event. Ms. Mallon welcomed everyone and explained the purpose of the Roundtable was to assist the Principals with their schools. The Education Advisory Board (EAB) would like Meeting Minutes Principals' Roundtable Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2005 to be a liaison between the Principals and the City. The participants and Board members introduced themselves. 8:30 a.m. About the EAB and its Activities Vice Chair Beil gave a history of the Principal for a Day Program (PFAD) that the Board sponsors each year. He noted that the Chair of the Education Advisory Board, Jean Cairo, spearheaded the program. Unfortunately, Ms. Cairo was out of town and was not present. Vice Chair Beil distributed informational material regarding PFAD that he reviewed with the audience. Vice Chair Beil explained the purpose of PFAD was to find local business people to partner with the schools in order to assist the schools with their particular needs. Vice Chair Beil reported that as a result of PFAD, Galaxy Elementary School received $10,000 from a local businessperson that wanted to help the School. Ms. Mallon referred to the PFAD questionnaire that was distributed and asked if anyone had any comments or suggestions. Mr. Sims explained his school has had good success with PFAD in finding business partners to help with the school. The school is receiving scholarships for students to attend an after school dance program through Southern Dance whose owner was their first PFAD. He also stated how pleased he was that his School received the financial assistance as well. Mr. Flamer noted his school's business partner was from Southern Homes, who has worked with his school on a regular basis to find employment for the students. He also felt the program was a great benefit to the schools and he would like to see it continue. There was discussion about PFAD being a success and the interaction that was achieved among the schools and the person acting as the Principal for a Day. Ms. Mallon asked if there were other principals that would like to participate in Principal for a Day. Ms. Perry stated she would like to have Boynton Beach High School take part in the program. Some principals thought it would be beneficial if they had an opportunity to meet with their business partners prior to the event and perhaps even meet more than once a year. Ms. Farace inquired if the Principals would prefer to have the same business partner every year or would they like to have a new one each year. Mr. Sims felt a minimum of a two-year relationship would be beneficial, but thought at some point it would be beneficial to have another business partner. Ms. Farace will include this question on the questionnaire that is sent out for PFAD. Ms. Farace introduced City Manager Kurt Bressner who arrived at 8:40 a.m. 2 Meeting Minutes Principals' Roundtable Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2005 8:40 a.m. Discussion by each Principal Mr. Flamer would like to see a committee formed from the Educational Advisory Board that could act as an intermediary between the 300 students that have left his school since over half of them were unemployed. The students reported they had difficulty finding jobs and he would like the City to help with this. Ms. Farace thought the Chamber of Commerce could assist with this. In previous years the Chamber of Commerce had an education committee. Ms. Farace stated the EAB would look at this when they set their priorities and goals to see if they could work with the Chamber on this request. Mr. Flamer volunteered to serve on the committee as well. Mr. Bressner asked what skills the students had when they left the Survivor Charter School. He noted it was important the skills of the students are known when speaking to prospective employers. Mr. Flamer responded when students leave his School, they are capable of writing a resume, participating in an interview and are aware of the work they would like to do. Mr. Flamer stated the students need actual jobs where they can earn money, not internships without pay. Many of his students are excellent workers as evidenced by the favorable reports received from employers. Further, Mr. Flamer responded he needed to know what the community was looking for so the school can prepare the students appropriately. Mr. Bressner felt there would be openings in the City's Utility Department within the next three to five years due to retirements. Also, there are always positions available for police officers, firefighters and dispatchers. Being a dispatcher requires responsible people that are capable of making decisions quickly and correctly. Mr. Bressner pointed out the City has 870 fulltime positions and there is constant turnover averaging 6% to 7% per year. He also thought speaking with the Chamber of Commerce and people in the construction trades would be beneficial. Another issue that needs to be addressed is where these workers would be able to live in the City, considering the escalating costs of housing in Boynton Beach and other surrounding municipalities. In conjunction with Mr. Bressner's recommendations, Ms. Perry felt it was important to raise the level of thinking of the students and to provide them with more work related activities. She felt this could be accomplished by working with employers and the Chamber. Once the skill sets are known, the school curriculum could be designed appropriately. Ms. Lashley, the South Volunteer Coordinator and Business Partnership Coordinator for the School District, pointed out that every year they provide leadership training in the fall for the school business partners and volunteer coordinators assigned to the schools. Ms. Lashley stressed it was imperative the schools appoint a business partner who could be very beneficial in helping a school meet its needs and could also provide 3 Meeting Minutes Principals' Roundtable Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2005 opportunities for the students when they leave school. Ms. Lashley would also like to serve on the subcommittee with Mr. Flamer. Ms. Lashley announced that the south area fall leadership training will take place on August 18tli at the West Boca Medical Center. Each area hosts their own leadership training. The training for the central area will take place on August 23rd at the JFK Medical Center and there will be training for the west and north areas as well. Ms. Whetsell also asked if the EAB could seek grants that would allow high school students to go to the elementary schools for the purpose of tutoring elementary school students on computers. She also thought the students could then train parents to learn to use computers at the schools. Ms. Farace reported the Library is open later than the schools and computers are available for this purpose. The School District site is available through the Library computers. During the past school season, the Library offered a program entitled "Read Boynton" where high school students tutored middle and elementary school students. She anticipates the program would be offered for the next school year. Ms. Farace requested that the principals provide their E-mail address so she could notify them of upcoming events including when "Read Boynton" would start up again. · Mr. Owens - Charter School of Boynton Beach Mr. Owens greatest concern was the lack of volunteers at his School. Most of the volunteers at his school are parents of the children attending the School. He would also like the schools to communicate more with each other. Ms. Mallon inquired if the principals would like to have more roundtable meetings and Mr. Owens thought that meeting quarterly would be very beneficial. He would also like to further promote education throughout the City by conducting a fair that all schools would participate in. · Kathleen Perry, Boynton Beach High School Ms. Perry noted she was new to the School and questioned why there was no sign to identify the location of the School. Ms. Farace reported that a marquee would be installed in the near future. Ms. Perry would also like to utilize the marquee as a publicity tool to let the public know what is going on at the High School. Ms. Farace distributed a picture of the marquee. She explained that the marquee came to fruition through the efforts of the citizens of Boynton Beach and the City Commission. Ms. Perry would like to see the Chamber of Commerce become more active with the schools. She also favored having a school liaison from the Chamber of Commerce that could be involved with the schools. 4 Meeting Minutes Principals' Roundtable Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2005 Mr. Bressner recommended that the Education Advisory Board ask the Chamber of Commerce to name a liaison to the EAB. Ms. Whetsell also thought it would be beneficial if the EAB held some of their meetings at various public schools. Ms. Whetsell noted she has several senior volunteers at her school and recommended utilizing the retirement community in the City to seek volunteers for the schools. Mr. Sims noted when he became Principal at Galaxy Elementary School the volunteerism was very low. However, the Foster Grandparent Program is now at the School and is doing a wonderful job. They come to the School on a daily basis and are paid through their Agency. He recommended that schools needing volunteers should contact them because they are always looking for schools. Ms. Perry spoke about the great volunteer program at her previous school. Ms. Shetler pointed out that at one time the senior community was against having Olympic Heights built and once it was built, they turned out to be the greatest proponents of the school. Vice Chair Beil noted volunteerism was the biggest issue discussed at the previous Roundtable. As a result, the Education Advisory Board devoted a great deal of time the next year trying to get volunteers into the schools. Some of the issues the Board encountered was that people were afraid to go into the schools and when people went to the school to volunteer, there was no one there to assist them. Vice Chair Beil stated it was important there be someone in charge at the school to greet the volunteers. Ms. Lashley stressed the importance of assigning volunteer coordinators at the school. The School District has a program to train volunteer coordinators for all the schools. She noted the School District has connections with the Forster Grandparents, RSVP, and other agencies and retirement communities that provide volunteers. Mr. Owens inquired if charter schools were also included in the School District program. Ms. Lashley responded that they were. · Jim Kidd, South Tech Academy Mr. Kidd thanked the EAB for its past support for South Tech and he was thankful the School is still present to serve the community. Mr. Kidd would like to see more communication among the parties including the schools and the EAB. The greatest issue his school is facing is raising the student achievement scores. The school dropped to an "F" this year, with the poorest performance being writing. Mr. Kidd is looking for solutions and help to improve their student achievement. He would like to have volunteering come into the school for this purpose. Mr. Flamer noted his school was located across the street from Boynton Beach High School and no one can find his school. He only has one volunteer at his school and he would certainly like to see this increased. Even though the students that attend Survivor Charter School are poor performing students, 82 students graduated this year. He noted 5 Meeting Minutes Principals' Roundtable Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2005 this school is graded as a regular high school, which he felt should not apply, since they deal with poor performing students who are unable to attend a traditional high school. Mr. Flamer and Mr. Kidd will be going to the State to appeal the grading system that is applied to their schools, because they feel the students at these schools are not your typical student and should not be subject to the established grading system. He would like the City to help with this endeavor because he feels it is unfair to apply those standards to his school. Mr. Flamer would like to have volunteers, mentors and guest speakers come into the school to show the students there are opportunities for them. Mr. Kidd pointed out that South Tech deals with four-year academy students, whereas Survivor School deals with special students. South Tech is trying to attract better students by offering academies and has introduced a medical program. By introducing more academies, they hope to attract a higher caliber of student, thereby increasing the school's scores. Ms. Ross recommended that Mr. Flamer and Mr. Kidd contact the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition and the Mentor Center of Palm Beach County. She felt these two organizations could greatly assist their schools. Mr. Bressner pointed out the City also works with the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition to provide literacy education to City staff. He noted they are a wonderful resource. Ms. Ross explained that the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition is a model throughout the State. Also the Mentor Center of Palm Beach County maintains a national website, www.mentorcenter.obc.orqthatislinkedtotheCounty.Mr. Kidd requested to speak with Ms. Ross after the meeting. · Janice LaForte, DayStar Academy Ms. LaForte commended Mr. Bressner, who has volunteered at DayStar Academy, and came to the school to speak to the sixth graders. Ms. LaForte also noted Mr. Bressner took on the task of mentoring a very troubled student, who was reluctant to cooperate. Ms. LaForte also thought it was important the schools be involved with the Chamber of Commerce and DayStar Academy has become a member as well. As a result, they participated in the Chamber's Business Expo in the Boynton Beach Mall and was able to market the school. · Guarn Sims - Galaxy Elementary School Mr. Sims concurred with much that had been already discussed. He thanked the EAB for the assistance they have given to the schools throughout the years. One thing he would like to see is more City officials visiting the schools to learn what is going on with the schools in the City. Also, he would like the EAB to come to the schools as mentioned by Ms. Whetsell. By doing so, City officials and members of the EAB would be able to see first hand what goes on at the schools on a daily basis. 6 Meeting Minutes Principals' Roundtable Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2005 Mr. Sims pointed out that all City officials have a vested interest in all the City schools and it is important they are well informed of what is actually happening in the schools on a day-by-day basis. He noted that no City official visited his school this year. He thinks it is important for the children to know the City officials care about the schools. Ms. Whetsell also recommended whenever children or a group of children receive awards, it would be nice to have them acknowledged by the City. She noted her students received awards this year and she sent E-mail to the City, but was never contacted. Mr. Bressner noted the City Commission has recognized many student groups over the past few years and he apologized that Ms. Whetsell was never contacted. Ms. Farace recommended whenever a school would like to contact the City, they should contact her and she will follow through with any request. Ms. LaForte reported she asked Mr. Bressner to provide her with a welcoming letter from the City to the teachers at DayStar Academy. As a result, the Mayor wrote a very nice letter that Ms. LaForte included in the teacher packages. Mr. Sims commended Ms. Kristen Conti, who was the PFAD at his School last year, for writing about her experiences and thanked her for doing so. He noted Ms. Conti was reluctant to serve at Galaxy School, but once she walked into the School, all her misconceptions of the school vanished. Mr. Owens noted the newspapers love to print anything that is negative about the schools, instead of focusing on the good things that happen in the schools. There are wonderful things taking place in the schools and the public never really knows what those are. Mr. Owens would like the EAB to help spread positive things about the schools. Mr. Owens thanked Mr. Bressner for helping him get his school started and noted the first year graduation took place in the City's Library Program Room and former Assistant City Manager Dale Sugerman was the keynote speaker. Mr. Sugerman still keeps in touch with him and maintains an interest in the school. Ms. Perry questioned if there was a space available in some City publication to announce school activities as a regular feature that would include high school students as contributing editors. Ms. Shetler had to leave for another appointment and thanked Mr. Bressner for attending the Roundtable, as well as Ms. Farace and the entire City for their involvement with the schools. Ms. Shetler reported Dr. Voss was on vacation and could not be present. Ms. Shetler brought greetings from Rolling Green Elementary School. Ms. Shetler reported that Rolling Green, although it was a very challenging school, it was a very successful 7 Meeting Minutes Principals' Roundtable Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2005 school. The school is a strong B school and the staff is very close. Rolling Green is the next Boynton Beach school that will be rebuilt and replaced on site. Forest Park School is also scheduled to be rebuilt and replaced on site. Ms. Shetler thanked the City for spearheading a campaign for Galaxy School and noted this school also needed to be totally rebuilt. The School District's 5-year plan is updated every year and hopefully Galaxy will be included soon. She encouraged Boynton Beach to continue its efforts on behalf of Galaxy School. Ms. Shetler also thanked the City for its involvement in getting a sign erected at the High School. Another area the City can help with is the performing arts magnet at the High School. Mr. Bressner asked how the City could help. Ms. Shetler stated the program needed to be marketed and parents needed to be urged to select the program for their children. Mr. Bressner requested he be sent a list of marketing issues the City could assist with. Ms. Ross noted that WXEL maintains a community calendar and she could place information on the calendar as well. Ms. Shetler noted the Cities of Boca Raton and Delray Beach have staff devoted to education issues and act as a liaison between the cities and the schools. She thought this might be something Boynton Beach may also want to consider. Ms. Shetler works with five cities and Boynton Beach is very active in supporting its schools. She would like to see a Beacon Center at Galaxy School. She requested the City contact the Children Services Council to see if this was possible. Ms. Farace thanked Ms. Shetler for her attendance at the Roundtable. · Kathy Harris - Congress Middle School Ms. Harris reported construction of the Congress Middle School started up in March. She would like the City to help with the neighbors and explain the construction would not take forever and should be completed soon. She noted the City has an Interlocal Agreement with Congress Middle School and the school is available to the City. Ms. Harris would like to have the Roundtable take place more often because it provides an opportunity for dialogue among the schools. · Karen Whetsell - Poinciana Elementary School Ms. Whetsell would like the EAB to hold a meeting at her school. She felt this would be a good way to keep the line of communication open between the school and the EAB. She also was in favor of holding the Roundtable more often. 8 Meeting Minutes Principals' Roundtable Boynton Beach, Florida June 22,2005 · Judith Asbury - Citrus Cove Elementary Ms. Asbury thanked the EAB for providing a SAC representative at her school. She reported she has had a problem maintaining a business partner at the school and would like help with this. She may ask the City to send a letter to the School District offering its support to include Citrus Cove on the five-year plan going forward seven years. They need additions, improvements and renovations, but the School District only has Citrus Cove on the list for additions. Currently over 1,500 children attend Citrus Cove School that was built for 757 children. Ms. Asbury noted the media and cafeteria room is no longer included on the list for expansion. She would like the City to assist with encouraging the School District to find funds to enlarge those buildings. 9:50 a.m. SummarylWrap-up Ms. Mallon noted communication and volunteerism were the major concerns expressed. She suggested the Board give consideration to sponsoring the Roundtable more than once a year and perhaps schedule another one during the middle of the school year. Ms. Mallon also thought that going out to the various schools would be beneficial. Ms. Farace stated she would be setting up a group E-mail to communicate with everyone. Ms. Farace noted her E-mail addressisfarace_v@popmail.firn.edu.This is the site Ms. Farace uses instead of the City's E-mail address so that all school items are kept together. She will also include Mr. Bressner on the list, as well as any other City officials that Mr. Bressner would like. Ms. Farace noted the E-mail connection can be used both ways and the Principals can also contact her with anything they would like disseminated. Ms. Whetsell will add Ms. Farace to the list to receive the Principals' Newsletter. Ms. Lashley reported the coordinators for the volunteers in public schools do not work in the summer, but they continue with the school supply drive. Ms. Lashley gave an update of the partnerships that have been formed and the supplies that have been received. Ms. Farace, who is also the City's Library Director, would like the principals to include a Library card on their school supply list. She noted Library cards are free for all children and the Library provides free access to all the databases available on its website. Ms. Farace introduced the new Assistant Library Director, Craig Clark. Mr. Clark noted the live homework help system is accessible from home as well and is available in Spanish. Ms. Farace announced that the mentoring program would be starting up again in the fall. 9 Meeting Minutes Principals' Roundtable Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2005 There being no further business, the Roundtable concluded at 10:05 a.m. Respectfully submitted, .. '('J ,~1-La-v{j~{...v- A. p\.. tLJ!.-J...<:.",,- Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (July 8, 2005) 10